A vast number of differently designed electrical connector pairs are known in the prior art. These connector pairs, which frequently comprise a male member and female member, are used in such applications such as providing electrical connections in wiring systems, particularly vehicle wiring harnesses. To make the connection between the pairs, the male member typically is inserted into the female member. Of course, in order to prevent accidental disengagement of the members of the connector pair, means such as a latch assembly are frequently provided to keep the members of the pair in positive engagement.
A typical latch assembly employed for this purpose is a cantilevered latching beam which has one end disposed on the housing of one of the members of the connector pair, the other end terminating in a free end. Disposed on the latching beam is a latching body which is typically configured to have a ramped surface in the direction facing away from the attached end of the latching beam and a stop surface facing in the opposite direction (facing the free end). When fabricated of a resilient material such as an appropriate polymer, the latching beam may be resiliently deflected by simply pressing the free end toward the housing. Another stop surface is provided on the housing of the opposite member of the connector pair, often being disposed on a cage which is configured to receive the latching beam. As the two members are engaged by inserting the male member into the female, the latching beam is depressed so that the beam slides within the cage of the other member, the ramped surface of the latched device sliding over the stop surface disposed in the cage. As soon as the latch device slides past this stop surface, the latching beam will resiliently pop up, thus engaging the two stop surfaces to provide a positive connection. 0f course, the two members may be disconnected by depressing the latching beam to disengage the stop surfaces and then sliding the beam back out of the cage. Connectors employing such a latching beam are disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,163,848; 4,370,013; 4,986,766; 4,950,179; and 4,925,398.
However, despite the positive engagement of the two latching surfaces, accidental disengagement is not unknown between connector pairs employing the resilient latching beam described above. Because of its resiliency, the latching beam is easily deflected away from the connector housing. When the two connector pairs are subjected to opposed axial forces, the force sustained by the engaged stop surfaces is also transferred outwardly, and tends to deflect the latching finger, thus resulting in failure of the connection. This failure mechanism is described in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,975,075.
Various ad hoc solutions are sometimes employed to solve this problem. For example, a wedge may be placed between the locking beam and the housing of the connector member after the two members of the connector pair have been connected. Such wedging of the locking beam holds it rigid and prevents downward displacement. However, this solution has several disadvantages: the wedge must be removed in order to disconnect the connectors, a task which may be difficult to accomplish if the wedge has been tightly inserted; conversely, if the wedge is too loose, it may simply fall out, leaving the latching beam free to deflect. Clearly, both of these results are highly undesirable. Furthermore, since the wedge must be inserted after the connectors are mated, the wedge may simply be forgotten, a not infrequent occurrence. Also inserting the wedge manually is a costly assembly step. What is needed is a means for keeping a cantilevered locking beam from accidental displacement caused by axial forces on the connector members so that the connector pair is kept in positive engagement. Such a means should be inseparable from the connection so that it cannot fall out, but should also allow the latching beam to be depressed in the normal manner.